MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
OF CRIME"There is no moral precept that does not have something
inconvenient about it." (Diderot)

Moral development, sometimes called age or stage, theories are found in
a number of fields, in general psychology, in cognitive psychology, in
criminology, in sociology, and in
adolescent psychology. This lecture briefly summarizes the moral development
ideas of Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg, and Gilligan in the larger context of a
discussion about normal and
abnormal adolescence. Moral development theories should be
distinguished from ordinary developmental theories in criminology, also
covered in this lecture. Developmental theories, according to Siegel (2004) are either "latent trait" theories, which
hold that criminal behavior is controlled by some master trait present at birth
or soon after which remains stable and unchanging throughout a lifetime; or
"life course" theories, which view criminality as a dynamic process, influenced
by individual characteristics as well as social experiences. Moral
development theories tend to be embraced by those with an interest in ethics;
latent trait theories by those with an interest in the root psychological causes
of crime; and life course theories tend to be attract researchers interested in
asking why and when do offenders stop offending (i.e., the study of
desistance).

It should be noted that despite the
inroads of some fairly good ideas in criminology, moral development theories
are most often regarded as "eclectic" theories in the field.
Eclectic means "everything causes delinquency or crime." They're subject
to what is also called the "evil causes evil fallacy." Blaming delinquency on
being an adolescent is the same as saying "moods" or "states of mind" cause
crime, and, of course, there are many things to blame delinquency on.
Theoretical efforts are likewise diverse, shooting out in multiple directions.
Neo-cognitive theory (Kelley 1994), for example, draws heavily upon the quite
mysterious process of alienation that typically occurs in adolescence, and then,
to take another example,
there are important down-to-earth biological processes to note, such as the
concept of "pubertal development" advanced by Felson & Haynie (2002), who
incidently found that puberty (and an associated property crime to violent crime
to drug crime pattern) was as reliable a predictor of delinquency as school
performance and peer association. There is tremendous variability to be
explained from this approach, and it is quite likely that this theoretical
project will remain unfinished for some time in criminology.

ADOLESCENCE AS A STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

It's been called the "transition" stage with no
accomplishment nor completion. Its existence has been called an
"historical accident." Experts can't even agree on when it
begins (most simply use the age of puberty) and when it ends (some say an
"extended" adolescence is possible up to age 25 or 30; other say
there's an "early" 12-14 stage, a "middle" 15-17 stage, and
a "late" 18-19 stage). There's more mythology than science when
it comes to notions of "typical" or "normal" adolescence,
and explaining the breakdown that occurs.

Daedalus, an inventor, and his son,
Icarus (so the ancient Greek myth goes) were both imprisoned in a tower on the
island of Crete. To escape, Daedalus built a set of wings out of feathers
and wax, but only his son, Icarus was small enough to fit thru the tower
window. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high because Apollo, God of
the Sun, would become jealous of someone entering his domain and melt the
wax. But Icarus, exhilarated by being able to soar above the Earth, flies
too high, and his wings melt, plunging him into the Hellspont. Ever since,
"adolescents" have been seen as: (a) disobedient toward parents; (b)
wanting to "fly" too high; and, in some interpretations, (c) condemned
to hell.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine,
recommended two kinds of treatments for unruly children. For females, they
should be made pregnant. For males, they should be flogged. Philo, a
friend of Socrates, advocated infanticide if beatings didn't work. History
actually records a long record of using sex, corporal punishment, and
infanticide against unruly children. The common law doctrine of in loco
parentis has deep roots in almost all civilizations.

Historically, adolescence can be considered a by-product of
the Industrial Revolution. Prior to child labor
laws, there had been no need to define any special period of life for those too
young to work but too old to not be given at least some adult
responsibilities. Over the years, the age at which society permits
children to assume adult roles has gradually been raised. This
"stretch" of time, then, has come to be associated with the
"stress" of adolescence.

By the late 19th Century, numerous experts were popularizing
the idea of adolescence being a "critical" stage
of life. Baden-Powell (founder of the Boy Scouts)
pioneered the technique of "not too much" but "not too
little" discipline as a cure for the problems of adolescence. Dr.
Spock, later in the 1950s, would advocate complete and total
leniency. Counterculture experts such as Keniston
and Roscak in the 1960s also advocated toleration as well
as popularized the idea of being "stuck in adolescence."
Freudian and Neo-Freudian ideas abounded, but it was Stanley Hall's
ideas about the Six Themes of Adolescence that became the most popular hallmarks
of "normal," as follows:

THE SIX THEMES OF ADOLESCENCE

1. Self-definition -- a concern for
finding one's "real" self, a concern for habit formation, and little
unstructured time to deal with these concerns, hence, a constant state of
urgency.
2. Estrangement and Omnipotentiality -- estrangement takes
the form of feeling like a marginal member of society, with unrealistic mobility
aspirations and intense job anxieties. Omnipotentiality is the feeling of
absolute freedom, a reveling in all the pure possibilities that the future may
hold. For many, the "car" becomes a symbol for this.
3. Refusal of Socialization -- a
critical if not rebellious stance at continued efforts to instruct, educate, or
train for society's purposes. There's a feeling of always being under
observation by a critical audience of all adult socializing agents.
4. Celebration of Youth Culture -- a
rebellious sense of solidarity based on the perceived sharing of fads, fashions,
and styles by others in the same age group or generation; intense
age-consciousness.
5. Stasis as Death -- stasis means
"standing still" or being in a rut, and this is avoided and despised
at all costs. There's an irrational devotion to change, to putting oneself
through changes merely for the sake of change. It takes two forms: a need
to move (geographic restlessness); and a need to be moved (experimentation with
states of consciousness).
6. Physical Obsession -- there's an
obsessiveness or inadmissible sense of shame over uncontrollable physical
changes, like sex fantasies, body weight and contours, dietary habits, the
outgrowing of clothing, outbreaks of acne, etc.

INDICATORS OF NORMAL AND ABNORMAL ADOLESCENCE

Indicators of being on a "normal" course of
moral development:
1. Obsessive concern for bodily appearance
2. Fear of abandonment expressed as assertion of independence
3. Desire to be different in terms of "fads"
4. Sexual desire and manipulativeness
5. Wanting to be like other races or cultures
6. Persistent wisecracking as long as it's witty
7. Obsessive desire for success and recognition
8. Lack of self-identity or distinct self-concept
9. Emotional extremes expressed as sensitivity to criticism

Indicators of being on an
"abnormal" course of moral development:
1. Driven by whim or caprice rather than purpose or gain
2. Unmoved by overtures of help & harms helpers
3. Shows no loyalty to other adolescents
4. Words are inconsistent with feelings, language is strange, humor missing
5. Claims to have always been the first to do something
6. Pathological lying for no good reason
7. Superficially charming but unable to maintain intimate relations

In short, delinquents are seen as "stuck" in the Concrete
stage, only seeing things as black or white, right or wrong. In short,
they have a dualistic morality. They're only concerned with classifying things,
and no other reasoning about them.

In short, delinquents are seen as "stuck" in the Identity
Stage, in a semi-permanent state of identity crisis. Male delinquents
experience identity without intimacy, and female delinquents experience intimacy
without identity. Self-worth and fidelity are virtues that have not yet
developed.

In short, delinquents are seen as "stuck" in a state of moral
immaturity. It doesn't depend on age, and any of the first three stages
may be where they're stuck. Most hardcore delinquents would be at the
Punishment stage, where they only believe something is right or wrong because it
hurts if you do what society thinks is wrong. Others are in the
Individualistic stage, where they decide what is right or wrong by reference to
an egoistic sense of whether they can be blamed or not for doing wrong. A
few may be in the Interpersonal stage, where they determine right or wrong by a
sense of group honor. Kohlberg actually did some research with adult
criminals, finding that they are more likely to be in stages 1 and 2 (deterred
from crime by fear of sanctions).

NOTES ON GILLIGAN'S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

The differences between males and females
are seen as the
difference between an ethics of justice and an ethics of caring. Boys game
(for winners and losers) while girls play (for enjoyment of the game). The
theory is a feminist critique of justice, as traditional justice conceptions are
seen as not allowing room for an ethics of
caring. Similar ideas can be found in what is called restorative
justice orpeacemaking
criminology. Although these viewpoints in criminology
have separate traditions, there is enough of a connection to mention them here.

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

The "latent trait" view holds that there
is some personal attribute or characteristic present in all people which
controls their inclination or propensity to commit crime. The most
sophisticated model of this idea can be found in Rowe, Osgood & Nicewander
(1990), but there have been a number of efforts since then to identify which
trait is the "master" trait. Suspected traits include defective
intelligence, impulsive personality, genetic abnormalities, physical-chemical
functioning of the brain, and/or environmental influences on brain function.
Wilson & Herrstein (1985), for example, attempted to develop a
human nature theory of crime which argued that personal traits outweigh the
importance of social variables. In a latter work, similar authors
(Gottfredson & Hirschi 1990) argued that "low self-control" was the "master"
trait, the root cause of which was inadequate child-rearing. Gottfredson &
Hirschi's ideas in this regard are often treated as a control theory of crime.

A fairly new "latent trait" approach has
been that of Mark Colvin (Colvin 2000; Unever et. al. 2004) who argues that
chronic criminals emerge from a developmental process characterized by
recurring, erratic episodes of coercion. There are two types of coercion:
interpersonal (which is direct, involving the use or threat of force from
parents, peers, and significant others); and impersonal (which involves
pressures beyond individual control). Colvin’s differential coercion
theory integrates several existing criminological perspectives, but in
brief, attempts to locate the root cause of chronic offending in the fact that
such offenders grew up in homes where parents used erratic control and applied
it in an erratic and inconsistent fashion.

Also fairly new is Tittle's control
balance theory (Tittle 1995), which expands on the notion of personal
control as a predisposing element of criminality. Control, as a concept,
can refer to either the amount of control one is subject to by others, or it can
refer to the amount of control one can exercise over others. Those who
have an excess of the first kind of control tend to engage in exploitation,
plunder, and decadence. Those who have a deficit of the second kind of
control tend to engage in predation, defiance, and submission. All six
behaviors are ways to restore a balance.

The "life course" view can probably be
traced back at least to the Gluecks (Glueck & Glueck 1950), but most modern
criminologists trace it to Sampson & Laub's (1993) book, Crime in the Making.
Two concepts are important from this point of view. One is the concept of
"trajectory" which is the pathway of development over the life course
marked by a sequence of transactions. Every trajectory has an entry point,
success point, and the element of timing. Normal development is
characterized by avoiding any event that may be called an "off-age" event.
Two is the concept of "transition" which refers to the life events
themselves which are embedded in the trajectories. Transitions can consist
of tipping points or turning points, but generally refer to radical turnaround
points in life. Most life course theorists presume that the seeds of a
criminal career are planted early in life, point to "age of onset" as being the
best predictor of later, more serious criminality, and research things like
getting married or joining the military as turning points. However, people
may begin their trajectory into crime at different times in their life.
For example, the forensic psychologist, Terrie Moffit argues that there are two (2)
main trajectories, as explained below.

THE MOFFIT DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF CRIME

University of Wisconsin psychology professor Terrie
Moffitt's developmental theory (Moffitt 1993) begins with empirical research
indicating that signs of persistent antisocial behavior can be detected early in
life, as early as the preschool years, and extends to the idea that adolescent
deviant behavior is greatly influenced by the behavior of peer groups even after
parental variables are taken into account. The theory states that two groups of
antisocial youth can be distinguished based on their ages of onset and
trajectories of conduct problems. These two groups differ enough to require
separate causal explanations. It might be helpful to illustrate some of the
distinctions between these two groups in the following table:

Little to no problems with peer rejection; have learned
how to get along with others

5-10% of the male juvenile offender population (2%
females)

Majority of juvenile offender population; ceases or
stops offending around age 18

During the teenage years, the two types
are indistinguishable, and no existing paper-and-pencil test for antisocial
tendencies or psychopathy will be able to discriminate the two types. That's
because many of the "late starters" will "begin" with rather serious
delinquency, and many of the "early starters" will be just "escalating" into
serious delinquent behavior at about the same time. Because many of the "late
starters" may only be engaging in symbolic adolescent rebellion (perhaps because
something is forbidden), have usually maintained empathy and avoided peer
rejection, and are smart enough to see the rewards in more socially approved
behavior, they usually "dropout" or desist from any pathway toward crime. Not
so with the "early starters" (the most frequently studied group) who may
only be precociously escalating into serious offenses as a way of expanding the
versatility of their antisocial ways across all kinds of conditions and
situations. In fact, a trajectory toward versatility might be apparent with
early starters at a very young age. The research indicates that
increasingly higher levels of early conduct problems are associated with
increasingly higher levels of late conduct problems, and Tremblay's (2003)
research also shows that the best predictors of early starters are: having a
target (sibling); parental separation before birth; and low income.

Although the number of early starters in the population of
interest may only amount to 5-10% of the total, such children and adolescents
usually account for more than 50% of referrals to authorities and mental health
services. Their behavior is disruptive not only to authorities, but to their
peers, and for this reason, they experience significant amounts of peer
rejection. Not only does this limit their chances for "getting ahead" on the
basis of normal, lasting relationships, but their poor interpersonal or
social skills are combined with three other prominent features, as follows,
and discussed in separate paragraphs below:

hyperactive-impulsive-attention
problems

conduct
problems

below-average
intelligence or low-IQ

The first feature -- attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) -- refers to a complex set of behaviors characterized by three
central features: (1) excessive motor activity (cannot sit still, fidgets, runs
about, is talkative and noisy); (2) impulsivity (acts before thinking, shifts
quickly from one activity to another, interrupts others, does not consider
consequences of behavior); and (3) inattention (does not seem to listen, is
easily distracted, loses things necessary for essential tasks). ADHS should not
be confused with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) which has the following
cluster of symptoms: (1) arguing with adults; (2) refusing adults' requests; (3)
deliberately trying to annoy others; (4) blaming others for mistakes; and (5)
being spiteful or vindictive (Kosson et. al. 2002). ADHS afflicts as many as
20% of American school-age children, boys more than girls (by a ratio of 9:1),
and blacks more than other ethnic groups, for debatable reasons ranging from
speculations about genetic predisposition to the possibility of exposure to
hazardous toxins in black communities. Many people afflicted with ADHD never
"outgrow" it, and theories about the continuity of learning disabilities into
adulthood are also controversial. The most common treatment is methylphenidate,
also known as Ritalin, but it has mixed effects, and a successful treatment
regimen for ADHD has yet to be found.

Conduct problems refer to the variety of symptoms found
in the diagnostic category of Conduct Disorder (CD), and among delinquent youth,
these are usually "co-occurring psychopathologies" that exist between one or
more of these symptoms and ADHD symptoms. In fact, Bartol & Bartol (2004)
report on research indicating that as many as 50% of disruptive children exhibit
having the symptoms of CD half the time and the symptoms of ADHD the other half
of the time. According to the APA, the central feature of CD is a repetitive
and persistent pattern of behavior that violates the rights of others, and
early-onset CD generally begins before age 10. Symptoms of CD include stealing,
fire setting, running away, truancy, destroying property, fighting, telling lies
on a frequent basis, and being cruel to animals and people. It is the consensus
of scholars that conduct disorder (CD) is roughly the juvenile equivalent of
adult antisocial personality disorder. Conduct disorder typically gets worse as
the child gets older, and it is often misdiagnosed as a learning disability
(because there are frequent problems with school assignments) whereas someone
with a "true" learning disability may not be conduct-disordered. CD afflicts
about 16% of the male population and about 9% of the female population.

Below-average intelligence or low IQ refers to a lower
cognitive ability and slow language development that, at times, is called by
other names, such as "neuropsychological dysfunction" or impairment of
"executive functioning." Low IQ is strongly associated with an early age of
onset for Conduct Disorder (CD) and has a relationship to delinquency which
holds even when socioeconomic status (SES) is controlled for. An
8 to 10 point difference is usually found on any standard intelligence test
comparing delinquents with nondelinquents. There are some interesting findings
regarding ethnic differences in how low-IQ is related to delinquency, as low-IQ
whites tend to follow a "susceptibility" pathway to the typical personality
disorders, and low-IQ minorities (blacks, Latinos, and Asians) tend to follow a
"school failure" (being held back) pathway to lower "emotional intelligence"
which results in decreased empathy and violent misreading of emotional cues from
others.

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